RFP Evaluation Process
Evaluation Process Explanation
An evaluation committee will evaluate all proposals. All proposals will be initially classified as being responsive or non-responsive. If a proposal is found non-responsive, it will not be considered further. All responsive proposals will be evaluated based on stated evaluation criteria. Any references in an answer to another location in the RFP materials or Proposal shall have specific page numbers and sections stated in the reference. Responses that do not meet the full intent of all requirements listed in this RFP may be subject to point reductions during the evaluation process or may be deemed non-responsive. Further, a serious deficiency in the response to any one factor may be grounds for rejection regardless of overall score.
Evaluation Criteria
We will evaluate each firm's proposal in a fair, consistent, and objective manner. Responses to questions or requirements identified in this CRM RFP will form the basis of our evaluation. The final decision regarding proposal selection and contract award will be subject to management review and approval. Key decision criteria will include:
- Ingenuity of suggested Total Cost of Ownership savings opportunities through process and/or service changes
- Bidder's current and future capabilities
- Bidder's abilities to handle all elements of scope (service and technical)
- Management and on-going service and support
- Ability to meet demand
- Experience in servicing institutions with similar needs
- Comprehensive implementation designed to minimize disruption of business activities
- Aggressive Pricing
- Willingness to provide pricing models that alleviate budget constraints
- Overall proposal conformity to RFP requirements and quality of response to RFP
- Demonstrated corporate commitment to quality
- Pricing and invoicing flexibility
In submitting a proposal Bidder waives any right to claim damages of any nature based on the selection process, final selection, and any communications associated with the selection.
"Best Value" Procurement
Means the selection of a vendor by determining which proposal offers the best trade-off between price and performance, where quality is considered an integral performance factor. The award decision is made based on multiple factors, including: total cost of ownership, meaning the cost of software subscription as well as related costs of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and supporting a product or service over its projected lifetime; the evaluated technical merit of the Vendor's proposal; the Vendor's past performance; and the evaluated probability of performing the requirements stated in the solicitation on time, with high quality, and in a manner that accomplishes the stated business objectives and maintains industry standards compliance. The intent of "Best Value" Information Technology procurement is to enable Vendors to offer and our organization to select the most appropriate solution to meet the business objectives defined in the solicitation
and to keep all parties focused on the desired outcome of a procurement.
Unsuccessful Proposals
Non-acceptance of any proposal does not imply any criticism of the proposal and/or any implication that the proposal was deficient. Non-acceptance of any proposal will mean only that another was deemed to be more advantageous. Upon award and execution of a binding agreement, the Supplier contacts for the unsuccessful Bidders will be notified. We shall have no obligation to explain why Bidders were not awarded contracts.
Basis for Rejection
We reserve the right to reject any and all offers, in whole or in part; by deeming the offer unsatisfactory as to quality or quantity, delivery, price or service offered; non-compliance with the requirements or intent of this solicitation; lack of competitiveness; error(s) in specifications or indications that revision would be advantageous; cancellation or other changes in the intended project, or other determination that the proposed requirement is no longer needed; limitation or lack of available funds; circumstances that prevent determination of the best offer; or any other determination that rejection would be in the best interest of our organization.
Protest Procedures
Protests must be received within seven (7) calendar days from the date of the contract award and provide specific reasons and any supporting documentation for the protest.
| Advice: |
While most organizations don't feel the need to permit an avenue and vehicle for protests, certain vendors (salesforce.com) respond very negatively when told they have not won the CRM software selection opportunity. We have witnessed salesforce.com first arrogantly tell the buying prospect they don't know what they are doing and then circumvent the project team all the way to the CEO (and tell the CEO that his or her team in uninformed). While we've never seen this strategy actually work, we've seen it repeated many times. |
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